Every three to four years the State Department on Aging and the local Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) create new plans on aging that helps to determine how Older Americans Act and state funds are spent and how services are delivered in the community. The current State Plan on Aging is effective through Sept. 30, 2017. The draft State Plan on Aging, that will begin October 1, 2017, has been release for public comment.

History behind Development of State and Area Plans: The CT State Department on Aging’s major source of funding is the Older Americans Act. The department is responsible for providing these funds to the five designated Area Agencies on Aging in CT who, in turn, secure local community providers to deliver services described in the Act.

The Older Americans Act (OAA) was enacted in 1965 which established the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) and state agencies on aging to address social service needs of older people. The OAA represented a turning point in financing and delivering community services to the elderly. Its mission is to help older people maintain maximum independence in their homes and communities and to promote a continuum of care for the vulnerable elderly. The OAA requires that services are targeted to those with greatest economic or social need. The SDA and AAAs create plans that outlines how the mission and requirements of the OAA are reached.

You may provide comments by email to Aging.sda@ct.gov or by phone at 1-866-218-6631. We will receive in-person comments May 23, 2017 from 1– 3 pm in the Board Room at the Connecticut Board of Regents, 61 Woodland Street, Hartford.